Michigan State bolstered its tight end room during the offseason and one of the more intriguing newcomers is Boise State transfer Tyneil Hopper.
With Daniel Barker and Tyler Hunt departing, Maliq Carr is the only returning tight end who caught a pass during the 2022 season. So, Michigan State gained Hopper, Wisconsin transfer Jaylan Franklin and Norfolk State transfer Ademola Faleye through the transfer portal, and added true freshman early enrollee Brennan Parachek to the roster in January as well.
On Tuesday, Carr and Hopper spoke to the media following spring practice. Carr praised the job Hopper has been doing since arriving in East Lansing. For Hopper, now a sixth-year senior, he feels the transition from Boise State to Michigan State has been smooth so far, but still understands he has more to learn.
“It’s been going good,” Hopper said about his adjustment to life at MSU. “I just got here in January. I’ve been doing spring ball, so for right now, I’m just learning, grinding with the boys.”
Hopper – who recorded 22 catches for 259 yards and two touchdowns in 45 career games with Boise State – thoroughly enjoyed his time with the Broncos, but was searching for somewhere new for his final season of college eligibility.
“I wanted to find a better opportunity for myself,” Hopper said. “I felt it was time to move on. I love everything about Boise State. I graduated from there, everything like that, but I felt like it was time for me to open up that next chapter of my life and move on to somewhere else and enter the portal.”
He had a lot of interest when he entered the transfer portal, but of course, ultimately chose the Spartans. So, what called him to East Lansing?
Hopper had a connection to the Michigan State program through assistant head coach/offensive line coach/run game coordinator Chris Kapilovic. Kapilovic, or “Coach Kap,” was on staff at North Carolina in 2017 and 2018 when Hopper’s older brother, Tyrone Hopper, was a linebacker for the Tar Heels. Kapilovic and Hopper’s dad, Tyrone Hopper Sr., built a strong bond during that time and have maintained it ever since.
Hopper also felt comfortable with Michigan State tight ends coach Ted Gilmore, and ultimately decided that MSU was the right program for him.
“What got me here (to MSU) was just connections, being able to have people that my Dad knows," Hopper said. "I got reached out to by a lot of schools (when I entered the portal). But this spot specifically, Coach Kap, the O-line coach, he was at UNC before and he knew my brother. Him and my Dad had a really good relationship. So being able to talk to them and Coach Gilmore, just building that little connection right there, and then coming up for a visit, I felt like this was the right place for me to be.”
He also noted that the way Michigan State’s offense uses tight ends under offensive coordinator Jay Johnson, and how open and honest Gilmore and assistant Nick Ruffing were with him throughout the process, were big draws to the program.
“(The offense), and I just felt like they were being very up front with me and just being truthful about everything,” Hopper said about why he chose Michigan State. “That’s what I liked the most was the truth. Being able to have honesty and I feel like I can trust you, I feel like that’s a big thing, and me wanting to do everything right and be coachable and everything like that because if I can trust you and you’re coaching me hard, then that’s the team I want to be a part of.”
Hopper has since gotten a chance to get to know Gilmore and Ruffing even better throughout spring ball. He likes their coaching style and knows that they’ll get the best out of him.
“It’s been great,” Hopper said. “Coach Gilmore, he coaches hard. He coaches before the play, during the play and after the play. That’s something that’s a little new to me. But it’s been great, though. I really enjoy Coach Gilmore, and Coach Ruffing, he’s right there with him. They’re both coaching us hard, but I feel like they’re going to get us to where we want to be.”
Hopper, listed at 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds, isn’t coming into the fall expecting to be handed anything. He knows that snaps are available, and he has a unique and versatile game, but the veteran’s goal is simply to help make the team better in any way possible.
“I’m just coming here to help the team in any way I can,” Hopper said. “I feel like I have a different skill set and I feel like I can help in the run game, pass game, everything like that. So, I feel like me being an older guy, I can add on to this group because I feel like we do have some really good guys in the room as of right now – Maliq (Carr) and Evan Morris, and we got some other transfers as well, too. So, I feel like we'll be one of the top rooms.”
One area where Hopper is strong in, and a facet the Spartans lacked at the tight end position to some degree last season, is blocking. He has worked tirelessly throughout his career to become an effective blocker, but he didn’t start out that way.
“What’s crazy is, coming out of high school, that’s not what I was,” Hopper said about being known as a good blocker. “I was the opposite. I’m going into my sixth year, so me developing over the years, that’s where I'm at now. I’ve turned into a blocker, which I take pride in that because you block to get the rock, that’s how I think about it. Being able to come in here and bring a different spice to the game, add some tension with those D-linemen and the linebackers and all that stuff, I really enjoy that competition.”
While Hopper takes pride in his ability to block in the run game and as a pass protector, he also feels that he can be an asset in the passing game. He understands that blocking comes first, but after never hauling in more than 13 receptions in a single season at Boise State, Hopper thinks he has more to offer a receiver. Still, the blocking is what will get him reps and what will keep him on the field.
“I feel like I'm a threat in both receiving and blocking,” Hopper said. “But I felt like, yeah, it was that path to get on the field, because I felt like if you can block, they want you out there on the field to open up some of those holes for the running backs, or stay in protection and be able to protect for the quarterback and stuff like that. That was a key thing I wanted to focus on, because I feel like blocking is the most important thing when it comes to playing tight end.”
While he is new to the Michigan State program, Hopper is obviously an experienced college football player. As a sixth-year veteran, he has been using his experience to guide and lead the younger players in the room, such as Parachek, redshirt freshmen Jack Nickel and Michael Masunas, and redshirt sophomore and former quarterback Hamp Fay.
“I feel like I’m a smart player,” Hopper said. “I feel like I’m a leader. I feel like I can help coach because we do have some young guys in the room. We have quite a few. One’s from my rival high school, Jack Nickel. But we’re all close in there, and so I feel like being able to be close as a group and then eventually spread out and being able to be close as a team, that’ll put us on the right path to where we want to go.
“What I feel like I bring to the table is just experience, diligence and discipline. I’m selfless and tough. All of those things we preach, and so I feel like that’s what I’m about.”
Hopper was also asked about any linebackers who were sticking out, and he noted that redshirt junior Cal Haladay, redshirt senior Jacoby Windmon, sixth-year senior Aaron Brule and true freshman Jordan Hall have all “come to play” at practice and have been giving him and the offense good looks.
Overall, Hopper felt the Spartans are building something special in East Lansing and he wanted to be part of that. He believes Michigan State could surprise some folks in 2023.
“I feel like I can help, and I feel like that's why I wanted to be here because I feel like our team is just gonna be unbelievable,” Hopper said. “I feel like we can go out there and do the things we want to do together.”
